Products exist to solve customer needs.
Marketers Understanding Engineers and
Engineers Understanding Marketers:
The Opportunities and Constraints of a Crossdiscipline Course Using 3D Printing to Develop
Marketable Innovations
Louis Reifschneider Peter Kaufman
Technology Marketing
Illinois State University
Points to take away from presentation today
1. The geometric model of a design begins with the
customer in mind. Products exist to solve customer needs.
2. Low-fidelity prototyping allows all members of a design
team to communicate their ideas without specialized
training, CAD skill, to create geometry.
3. Fused deposition modeling creates alpha prototypes
on non-trivial products within a one semester course.
4. Alpha prototype provides authentic feedback from
customers and thus creates an authentic design
experience for the student: one in which a product is
designed, then built, and then tested by a customer.
A brief history of the collaboration between
Dr. R Technology and Dr. K Marketing
• 2009 Dr. R. told by TEC graduate at major company
that “having TEC students interact with students
outside their program” would be very beneficial.
• 2009 - 2011 Drs. R & K collaborate: guest speaking,
their undergrad TEC and Marketing classes
collaborate on short term projects.
• Spring 2013 and 2014 New Product Design and
Development (NPDD) course taught with Senior
TEC students and MBA Marketing students.
New product development is a synthetic process
where customer needs (marketing) are converted
into solutions (geometric model) to meet needs.
Marketing
Focus
Technology
Focus
Voice of the
Customer
(the Plan)
Customer
NEEDS
Concept generation
2-D Hand
Rendering
3-D Low Fidelity
Prototype
Synthesis of
Plan and
Solutions
Patents (external
search)
Brainstorming
Geometric
Model
•
•
•
•
FDM prototypes,
cost analysis,
stress analysis,
authentic feedback,...
Design is an iterative process:
Customer Needs are the measure
of how well a solution is working.
Release for
Production
YES
NO
GOOD
FIT?
Concept generation
3-D CAE
Model
Voice of the
Customer
(the Plan)
Marketing
Focus
2-D Hand
Rendering
3-D Low Fidelity
Prototype
Synthesis of
Plan and
Solutions
Patents (external
search)
Customer
NEEDS
Geometric
Model
Technology
Focus
Product Development as done in the NPDD course
Customer
NEEDS
Customer Needs drive the design
process: define the boundary of good
and not so good solutions.
Objective Measure to assess
how well need is being met.
A POSITIVE attribute of the
product that addresses a need.
Criteria
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Focus
Easy to carry
Size
Easy to attach
Security
Price
Final Customer Need Statement
Easy to carry in and out of stores
Support the shopping materials I need
Will quickly attach to the cart
Will stay attached securely during use
Will be priced economically
The number of NEEDS is
relative few. Fewer
constraints facilitate
solutions.
Weighting
Factor
30%
25%
25%
10%
10%
Metric (Measure)
Metric Description
Dimensions and Weight
Surface area
Time
Pounds force
Dollars
Girth (LxWxH) and Weight (lbs) of the unit
Usable surface area for storage (in^2)
Seconds to attach
Resistance to pulling of the cart (lbf)
Price point
Relative
importance
of need
Used to score
alternative designs
Customer Needs from
representative NPDD
class project: Dashboard
Low fidelity prototype made with foam core to
perform concept testing with customers.
Concept Testing
What do
you think?
Well… ok here, great
there, not so good here…
Would you buy?
At what price?
Purchase Intention
Price Point: $, $$, $$$?
1 2 3 4 5
Week 12
Computer-aided design of product used to
create FDM and perform cost analysis.
STL files for FDM
Component data for
financial model of product
Many but not all components of alpha prototype
are made with fused-deposition modeling.
Red parts are made
with Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) (rapid
prototyping).
Lower costs materials are used when
appropriate such as acrylic sheet stock.
Acrylic sheet stock
used for flat areas
Some part geometry was sourced from on-line
vendors and incorporated into designs.
A self-locking hinge allows
adjustable pitch and storage
mode for product.
1.
Assembly model of hinge saved from
vendor site as a STEP file.
2.
Edits made to integrate features of
hinge into dash board design.
Dashboard product in use
during prototype testing
3D models help develop products and
Product design develops innovation skill in team members.
Conclusions – important lessons learned.
• Technology students learn that marketing data drives
design: products do not exist because a “constraintbased” problem was solved.
• Marketing students gain exposure to the software and
hardware used for prototype development.
BOTH groups
• Learn that products exist that meet customer needs
which can be made at an economical price point,
• Gain experience collaborating on a significant project
with people of diverse backgrounds.
Acknowledgement
and follow-up question
• Does the cross-discipline design activity develop
innovation skill within team members?
• The work Drs. Reifschneider & Kaufman have done to
assess development of innovation skill while engaged
in a design activity is beyond the scope of this talk.
• Research about how design develops innovation skill
was conducted during the Spring 2014 offering of he
NPDD course. This study was supported by the Illinois
State University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
(SoTL) Small Grant Program sponsored through the
Office of the Cross Chair in SoTL.
Questions?
THANK YOU